Chickpeas with Tomatoes, Spinach & Feta ♥

Chickpeas with Tomatoes, Spinach & Feta
Today's vegetarian supper, a vegetarian version of one of my favorite suppers of all time. It's made with favorite pantry ingredients (don't we just love chickpeas?!) and fresh spinach and a salty sprinkle of feta cheese.

No surprise, I love-love-love cookbooks, especially the ones that teach, the ones that inspire movement to the kitchen now, the ones that introduce new ideas and new techniques but still KISS (you know, Keep It Simple, um, Silly). So a couple of weeks ago, a new cookbook arrived, one that is getting a lot of attention, one I was so excited to preview. But the truth is, it left me cold. Finding ingredients would require moving to New York or maybe Italy. Fish is great but really, aren't we worried about our fast-depleting fisheries? (Tastes vary. You just might just love this cookbook. But I'm not going to mention it by name because, well, I'm just not.)

But one recipe did fit my it's-winter-and-I-crave-simple-comfort-food mentality. But a few minutes in, I realized how "simple" is different than "nothing going on". On a dime, I saved supper by converting the dish from bland nothing-ness into a vegetarian version of one of my favorite dishes of all time, Shrimp with Tomatoes, Spinach & Feta.

And it was FAB-u-lous. Go make it, now.

RECIPE for CHICKPEAS with TOMATOES, SPINACH & FETA

Hands-on time: 25 minutes
Time to table: 45 minutes
Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped in large pieces
1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 anchovy filets, optional (omit for vegetarian dish, Note to Vegetarians)
Pinch red pepper flakes
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup water

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 ounces fresh curly spinach (see TIPS), about 2 cups cut into ribbons
2 ounces feta, crumbled
Fresh cilantro or parsley, chopped

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil on MEDIUM until shimmery, add onion and garlic as they're prepped, stirring to coat with oil. Let cook gently until onions begin to soften.

Stir in tomato paste, anchovies and red pepper flakes and work into mixture, cook for 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes and water and bring to a simmer. Adjust heat to maintain a slow simmer and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Stir in chickpeas and heat through. Stir in spinach and let cook for about 3 minutes, just until soft. Sprinkle feta across the center and cilantro or parsley around the edge. Let feta soften for 1 - 2 minutes, then serve immediately.

ALANNA's TIPS & KITCHEN NOTES
Baby spinach is too tender for cooking, better to use "curly" spinach. It does require careful washing to remove all the grit from growing.
I like the idea of this for a hearty breakfast. Before adding the feta, scoop out four wells in the tomato mixture and slip an egg into each one. Place in a 200F oven until the eggs are almost cooked to the desired doneness. Top with feta and return to the oven for a last minute or two.



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Chicken Salad from Hanneke's Grocery & Westwood Catering

MORE FAVORITE RECIPES for CHICKPEAS
~ Pumpkin Hummus with Honey ~
~ Hot & Sour Chickpeas ~
~ Chipotle Chickpea Salad ~
~ Quick Green Chile Stew ~
~ more recipes with dried beans, lentils & other legumes ~
from A Veggie Venture

~ Broccoli Rigatoni with Chickpeas & Lemon ~
~ Chickpea & Chicken Salad ~
~ Simple Hummus ~
~ more recipes with dried & canned beans ~
from Kitchen Parade, my food column

A Veggie Venture is home of 'veggie evangelist' Alanna Kellogg and the
famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.
© Copyright Kitchen Parade 2012


Alanna Kellogg
Alanna Kellogg

A Veggie Venture is home of "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg and the famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.

Comments

  1. Definitely sounds fabulous to me!

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  2. I love vegetables and cook books. Thanks for the nutritional information facts.

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  3. This looks so good, I'm going to my kitchen as soon as I finish typing this and put it together. And tomorrow in go the eggs for breakfast. Thanks for this great recipe. So glad I have everything on hand.

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  4. Do you think this might work with frozen spinach? Maybe thawed and squeezed so it wouldn't be so watery?

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  5. yummy this looks awesome thanks!

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  6. Alex ~ Frozen spinach would be fine, though obviously not as "fresh". Given the choice, I would use spinach leaves vs chopped spinach but yes, either way, do thaw and squeeze out the water.

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  7. This looks fabulous! I love the healthy addition of anchovies.

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  8. I agree with above comments - sounds very tasty! I made a wonderful chickpeas with sweet potatoes,cumin seeds and parsley dish last night (from Marika Blossfeldt's "Essential Nourishment"), so on a chickpea mood just now :)

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Thank you for taking a moment to write! I read each and every comment, for each and every recipe, whether a current recipe or a long-ago favorite. If you have a specific question, it's nearly always answered quick-quick. ~ Alanna